The Indian Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) said this week that there is a need to restrict import of waste tyres into India, saying the country is becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for scrap tyres
The import of waste/scrap tyres into India has increased by more than five times since FY20-21, ATMA said in its pre-budget submission to the finance ministry. “Such indiscriminate import of waste/scrap tyres is not only an environmental and safety concern but also undermines the very purpose of Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Regulation on Waste Tyres which is in place since July 2022,” it added.
ATMA has long campaigned for controls on waste tyre management in India, often stating statistics that the recycling sector has decried as false. However, as Tyre and Rubber Recycling reported, imports since the announcement of EPR for tyres have actually increased.
Raising the concern, ATMA Chairman Arnab Banerjee said;”The import of waste/scrap tyres into India needs to be restricted through policy measures and, if necessary, allowed only in multiple cut or shredded form.”
It should be noted that this was a requirement set out in the original EPR regulations, but derogated at the request of the tyre recycling sector.
India has emerged as one of the leading manufacturers of tyres in the world with domestic manufacturing of tyres surpassing 200 million per annum. Accordingly, there is enough domestic End of Life Tyre (ELT) capacity available in the country, he added.
ATMA said India is on its way to becoming a ‘dumping ground’ for waste/scrap tyres. In FY24 alone, nearly 14 lakh metric tonne of waste tyres were imported in the country. These tyres are either resold in the replacement market resulting in unsafe travel or burnt [sic] causing environmental degradation, it said.
Anecdotal stories suggest that India’s tyre manufacturers are having some difficulty in acquiring EPR certification for their own tyres, as it is claimed that the available certificates are being used to cover imported waste tyres.
